NYCBL players' fees may change

The New York Collegiate Baseball League is on the verge of making a number of changes many fans won't even notice.

But the effects will alter the way many teams, including the Watertown Wizards, treat the players.

Under current policies and depending on the team, an NYCBL player pays a fee to the team. In Watertown's case, it's $600 — $300 for the team and $300 as a player commitment deposit, which is returned if the player finishes the season and doesn't leave for anything other than injury.

"I was expecting to pay, but not as much," said Watertown utility player Ben Kincaid. "It's a great league and good competition. It's definitely worth it."

Teams use the money for day-to-day operations, paying host families, supplying food and travel.

The Wizards aren't alone in charging the players. Cooperstown players paid $200 directly to the host family, with no money exchanging through the club. At Amsterdam, it's a $300 fee, paid to the team, which, like the Wizards, is used for daily operation.

It's all going to change next year, according to NYCBL president Stan Lehman.

"The league is in the middle of an evolution on the topic," he said. "We're not standardized at this point, but we're getting standardized."

Lehman said that beginning in 2011, there will be a stricter policies on how teams charge players. The details on the new arrangement have not been finalized and everything must be approved by the majority of the league owners.

"Costs may vary from team-to-team next year," Lehman said. "In some communities, the housing costs are less than others. There's a lot of variability in that particular cost."

The push to standardize and document fees charged to players and money paid to host families is driven by Major League Baseball, which helps fund the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball. The NYCBL is a member of the NACSB.

"There will be particular elements on what happens for the player that they can pay for — housing, some transport expense, etc. ..." Lehman said. "Those are elements (that) even with standardization will remain in place."

The goal of it all is to prevent the current wide range of costs for players with some teams charging $600 per player and others just $200 or nothing at all.

"Each team will come up with how they want to approach it," Lehman said. "It is a team-by-team arrangement."

An additional change, which will affect every NYCBL organization and slightly increase the cost of operation for the Wizards, is the league requiring on-site medical personnel for every game.

Currently, the Wizards rely on the city's emergency response staff or an opposing team's trainer for injuries. They do not employ a trainer.

"It looks like the league doesn't want to just rely on an ambulance," Lehman said. "The league is agreeing, it looks like, that on-site is what everybody wants."